Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Hiroshi Kashiwagi Interview
Narrator: Hiroshi Kashiwagi
Interviewer: Alice Ito
Location: Klamath Falls, Oregon
Date: July 3, 2004
Densho ID: denshovh-khiroshi-02-0033

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HK: The testimony was, well, I was encouraged by the people in the NCRR, I guess, and the point of the testimony was that the government had betrayed us again when they told us to register, and they made it seem like it was compulsory. In fact, they, they ordered us to register, and we refused and they went into all sorts of things. They threatened us, and I don't know, they arrested some, and so forth. And we suffered through all of that, and then years later, I read in a book, I guess it was Michi Weglyn, that, that the government was told that they could not force us to register. And I discovered this, and so that was the point of my testimony, that having gone through all of that suffering, you learn years later that it was not compulsory, and that the government, in order to save face, never told this to anyone. And very few people know, know this, and they don't believe me when I say so. I said, "Well, I saw it in a book." And some people, for example Nikki Bridges, said, "Why didn't, didn't you know that? I knew that, I worked in the office." In another camp. And it was different in another camp, but at Tule Lake, it was, it was not revealed at all. So that was my testimony, and I was facing the panel of all these distinguished people, including senators, and judges, and other people, and I was directing my, accusing them, and I told them, finally that, "Unburden yourself." And what got me was that after I had presented this powerful, to me, testimony, and they were quite shaken. And senator, a black senator from Massachusetts said, "Oh, that was a very moving testimony," and so forth, and then there was a little bit of silence, and the next guy came on, and he was a joker. And he broke the whole spell, and I never forgave him for that. He was a good man, a good community man, but at that point, he did not do me justice, and I never forgave him that, for that. And I don't think he, he ever realized what he had done, but that was my testimony.

<End Segment 33> - Copyright © 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.